He’s going to die.
That’s all I can think. My twin brother isn’t going to last through this. My face is streaked with tears. It hurts to watch Jared in pain. Every scream, yell, and whimper riles the throbbing pulse in my veins.
I’m going to kill these guys. Claw their brains out. Make them suffer for every minute they breathe. I’ll iron out the specifics later, because I’m not exactly sure how to make it happen, but it’s going to, and they’re going to scream just as Jared is screaming now.
“Not yet?” Xeres says. “Guess we’ll just have to do it more, then.”
I. Will. Kill. Them.
It’s a gruesome sight. Xeres keeps burning Jared’s skin with that strange black fire he wields. Jared struggled at first. The fire forms blisters and red marks on his skin that ooze with blood. He seems to have lost his ability to fight back. His body is slumped limply against the wall as Xeres props him up.
“Please,” Jared wheezes. “Please stop.” He coughs.
My twin brother… we’ve been looking out for each other for as long as I can remember. The sight is too much to take. I want to tear my gaze away, but I stare onward, letting the horrible image imprint in my mind, giving me more reason to hate these men.
I’m not sure how the demons are doing it, but Jared’s wounds stitch back up slowly, visibly. Jared and I have always been able to heal quickly, just not this fast.
“No visions yet. Are you certain this is going to work?” Vickal asks. He’s keeping me from rushing to Jared and clawing at Xeres’s face. His arms are fastened around my waist, sending disgust through me. Both at myself and at him. I like the way he feels, and I shouldn’t want any of that. Not with how much I hate them.
I have a lot of fight in me, but my well of resolve isn’t endless. I’m tired by how much we went through today, and it’s still morning. Every time I try to near Jared, Vickal pushes me or holds me back. I’m surprised he hasn’t tried knocking me out like Xeres did the first time.
“You’ll get your chance, pretty,” Vickal says, as he presses me to his body. “But with you, I don’t think we’re going to be using pain. Don’t you want to figure out what a pretty thing like you can do? There are ways to bring out your powers.” His breath is hot against my ear.
“Please,” I say. “Please let us go.”
I hate how weak I sound. It’s not like me to beg.
Vickal caresses my arm. He’s hugging me close. It’s almost like he’s trying to give me comfort, but it’s more likely that he’s stopping me from resisting. “It’ll be over soon.”
From what I saw, Jared didn’t get new visions. But I’ve never seen him heal like that before. It’s all pointless—all this torture, unnecessary suffering. It’s for naught.
They finally give up. Jared’s unrecognizable once they’re done. It takes a few minutes for his wounds to recover. But when they’re gone, he’s a different man. It looks like he’s aged ten years, and his cheeks are hollow.
Xeres backs away from my brother. “We’d give you something to eat, but there’s not much around here. The healing does take up a lot of energy.”
“Let me go,” I say harshly. Vickal concedes this time. His grip loosens, and I rush to my brother as soon as I can. I bend down next to him and cup his face. He breathes softly, and his eyes are closed. He’s already lost consciousness. That’s likely why Xeres gave up—no point torturing something that can’t react. Porky comes up to us and slumps onto his paws.
“We’ve confirmed he has quickened healing,” Xeres says. He strides to an old table and leans against it.
Sylver shakes his head. “That’s not what we want. We want the orb.”
“Perhaps it’s too early,” Vickal says.
Xeres nods. “Perhaps. His body’s taken too much. We’ll nourish him once we can, and then try again. The visions are often stubborn.”
Try again? I’ll do anything to make sure Jared doesn’t go through that kind of pain again. I want to keep us safe and free of worries.
My fingernails dig into my palm. “I’m not letting you do that.”
“Oh?” Vickal says. He shoots me a mocking glare. “And how, exactly?”
“I just won’t. I’ll fight with everything I have. Run when we can—”
Xeres chuckles. “You can try. You’ll be back here in minutes because of the compulsion.”
Vickal tuts. “You can’t stop us, pretty. We get what we want.”
“I’ll… What do you want?” I ask. “I’ll do anything. Just, please. Don’t hurt him again.”
“Anything, huh? Now that’s interesting.” Vickal leans forward and narrows his blue eyes at me. The way he studies me makes me feel dirty. “Unfortunately, what we want most is the orb. And torturing your brother is what we need to do to get it.”
Tears threaten to pour out of my eyes again. I hate these men with every ounce of venom I have in me. I stride from Vickal and slump next to the wall beside Jared, before pulling my brother up onto on my lap. His head’s heavy, but not as heavy as my heart is. I need to bring him somewhere comfortable to rest. Maybe I’ll rest him on the couch later, once my heart stops racing in the chest.
The three demons disappear after a few minutes, but I know they’re still close by. I’d be in agony if they weren’t because of Xeres’s compulsion. I hate how he has so much control over me. Being held back by such constraints is suffocating.
Jared looks drained. I hate to think about it, but maybe I’ll have to ask the demons if they can get him water and food. My brother looks like he needs it.
Sylver re-enters shortly after. As if answering my prayers, he’s carrying a bottle of orange soda and a pack of chips. “Found this in the car,” he says, answering my question even though I didn’t voice it. His posture is lazy, and I can’t ignore the careless charm he has, like some kind of rock star with a fuck-everything attitude.
“I…” I want to reject him, just for kicks, but Jared needs the nourishment. Chips aren’t exactly the best option, but I’ll take what I can. “I’ll give it to him when he wakes up.”
Sylver runs his hand through his wavy blond hair. “You’re not going to thank me?”
I snatch the snacks from him and set them beside me. “No,” I say. I still have my pride. I glare at him. “Why are you still here?”
“You’re awfully cold for a woman, aren’t you?”
“For a woman?”
Sylver chuckles. “They often react differently to me.”
He’s handsome, so it makes sense that chicks would be all over him. I crinkle my brow. “They probably do under different circumstances.”
I wait for him to leave, but he doesn’t. He crouches in front of me. I scowl. I want to be left alone, but he continues to hover like a persistent fly.
He runs his gaze over Jared. “You love your brother.”
I snort. “That’s obvious.”
“I admire that.” What is there to admire? Loving a brother isn’t exactly the most revolutionary thing in the world.
“Yeah? Because your kind doesn’t know how to love?”
He shakes his head. “No.” He looks down at the ground. His mind leaves the present for a second, and it feels like he’s searching through his memories. “It’s not that. But it’s been a while since I’ve felt something of the sort.”
Sylver seems friendlier than the other two, but I still don’t trust him. It takes more than a packet of potato chips and orange soda to win my trust. His expression is unreadable, and even though I’m trying hard to figure out his motivations, it’s difficult.
He continues, “It’s kind of the reason I need the orb. They say it can bring back the dead, you know? It’s a stretch, and the others tell me I’m hoping for something ridiculous, but someone I love is dead.”
My curiosity is piqued, but I don’t respond.
“Anyway. Sorry about what happened earlier, but we really need those visions.”
“If you really are, then you’ll get Xeres to lift that stupid compulsion off me and let us go.”
He smirks. “I’m afraid I can’t do that. You’re… interesting. I’m just here to make a peace offering.”
It almost feels like Sylver is sorry for me and Jared, which is infuriating, because it’s him and his buddies who put us in this situation in the first place. “With chips and soda?”
“Is it working?”
I resist the urge to use my signature move and kick his groin—that’ll only hurt my foot and amuse him.
“There’s one more thing to offer. I could give you one night of pleasure.” He tilts my chin up with his finger. “It’ll be to our mutual benefit.”
The touch tingles on my skin. My vision blanks with lust. I feel my insides coiling with need and the urge for release. I shiver, and my body numbs from the ache that feels too good.
I’m gasping and stifling a moan when Sylver releases me.
I suck in a sharp breath. “Wh-what?”
“They call my kind incubuses. Xeres compels through sheer force. I have more… nuanced methods.”
My mouth goes dry, and an ache begins in my center. “Th-that’s…” My mind’s whirling.
“Many women would die to have one night with me. I’m offering that to you.”
Cocky much?
“Go fuck yourself,” I say.
My retort only prompts his smirk to widen into a grin. “Don’t regret saying that later. You’ve piqued my interest, pretty thing, and few women manage to do that. I’m giving you something others will vie for.”
“I don’t want any of that, so go away.”
He tilts his head and regards me with amusement.
I assume the conversation has ended. I have nothing more to say to him, and it makes me uncomfortable the way he’s undressing me with his eyes. It reminds me of the men in the strip club.
But he continues to linger.
He’s a thorn in my side. I want him out of my skin.
He purses his lips. “Vickal told me he saw you dance in Club Sin.”
“Did he?”
“We share… things.” He looks away for a second, contemplating something. He smiles and then redirects his attention to me.
“Like what?” I ask. Is there something sinister behind their relationship? My breathing is still unsteady. It’s easy to get distracted by these demons. I use the sensation of Jared resting on my lap to ground myself to reality.
They’re monsters. They’re the enemies.
I brush a strand of my brother’s hair away from his face.
“Something you might like to watch,” Sylver says. “And he liked watching you.”
I swallow. My saliva travels thickly down my throat. Are Vickal and Sylver together? Sylver makes it sound like their relationship is more than simple camaraderie. The thought of them…
I blush.
Sylver smirks. “I think I might have liked watching you, too. Pity I couldn’t be there.”
“What are you playing at?” I can’t bear to meet his gaze any longer. The intensity is making my chest thump too hard.
“Tell me, Valerie.” His voice is husky. I don’t know whether he’s using his demon magic when he says my name, because emotions rise in me and my stomach tightens. “Why do you sell your body for lesser men?”
“I don’t sell my body. I entertain.”
“Is that what you tell yourself? I’m familiar with places like that. It’s not uncommon that the girls there slip to the vices. Have you?” His eyes flash with hunger.
“No.”
I’ve lain with men before. None like Sylver, however. I didn’t think men like him existed until today. At least, not in terms of looks. He’s a sculpture with a dash of mischief added in.
My sexual encounters have consisted mostly of unsatisfactory, quick romps. None at the strip club. I had adventurous teenage years.
“For money? Isn’t it?” Sylver says.
He’s stating the obvious, but I don’t like the sound of it. “What are you getting at?”
“Perhaps I can make you a better offer.”
That’d be making deals with the devil—in the literal sense.
“We demons accept contracts of servitude. We call them blood contracts. If you serve us how we want, we give you what you need. If you breach it, you’ll suffer. Vickal and I have thought about giving you one. We’re not opposed to additions to our group.”
“I’m not a slave to be bought.”
“Don’t be so quick to say no. Think this through properly. It’s more than money we can give you. Once this ordeal is over and we have the orb, and you help us see through Jared serving his purpose, we might even let you return to the human world. There’s a lot for you to gain—money, fame, power.”
Things I’ve been chasing after.
“You simply have to say yes.”
“And what’s in it for you?” My belly flops. If he thinks I’m going to help them with Jared, then he must not have been paying attention.
“We want to watch you beg for more as your pretty lips are wrapped around one of our cocks. And to do as we please. We prefer it when a girl says yes.”
My heart leaps from my chest. We? I can’t get over the two of them being a thing. It’s not bad—not at all. It’s kind of hot, actually, and sends my imagination running wild.
“Better us than some slob in a strip club, hm?”
I admit, if he’d told me this earlier, I might have considered it. I imagine being easily able to pay off my debts. Luc wouldn’t be breathing down my throat anymore. I’d have money… but will Jared and I even make it past this?
I level my gaze at Sylver. “I repeat—go fuck yourself.”
He shrugs and lifts his hand, and for a second I worry he might try that strange incubus trick he did earlier. Instead, he simply smooths his hand over his tousled hair.
He smirks. There are wrinkles around his eyes whenever he smiles. That little flaw only makes him more beautiful. He stands up and strides away, finally leaving me alone with Jared and giving me some peace.
I wrap my fingers around my brother’s and tighten my hold.
“We’ll get out of this,” I whisper to him.
Lightly, I caress Jared’s face. He’s frowning as he sleeps, and his breathing is irregular. I’d give my life to stop them from doing anything else to Jared, but I don’t think that’ll be enough.